Nine closures a month have hit Scotland’s high streets since 2016, a new report reveals today.

At least 414 banks, shops and government offices have closed over the past four years, according to research by the Federation of Small Businesses (FSB).

It said around 300 were bank branches, along with 80 to 90 shops, as well as several courts, tax offices and other public sector premises. Although shops formed a minority of closures, it said chain stores shutting in smaller towns had a ­disproportionate effect on local ­economies.

It called for a £90 million annual investment in hard-pressed Scottish towns from the Scottish National Investment Bank and the UK Stronger Towns Fund.

It is hoped the funding would help provide a boost to town centres which have seen a rise in the number of vacant units in recent years.

The findings suggest that since 2014, more than one in ten town centre properties have been vacant across the country. The statistics also showed large banks closed local branches at a rate of seven a month between 2016 and 2018.

The FSB forecasts the number of branches across the country will soon drop below 800, compared with 1,123 branches in 2013.

Towns including Lochgelly in Fife, Gourock in Inverclyde and Dornoch in the Highlands have been left without any banks at all as a result of the closures. It is also estimated around 30 cash machines in Scotland close each month.

Andrew McRae, FSB’s Scotland policy chairman, said there must be action from the Scottish and UK governments, as well as from big banks, to help support those living in towns.

He said: “More people in Scotland live in towns than cities. That’s why governments in Edinburgh and London must make a generational investment in our towns to overcome their current challenges and prepare them for how we’ll work and live in the future. Following FSB campaigning, last year the Scottish Government announced extra funding to boost Scottish towns. We need to build on this initiative because inclusive growth can’t only be a priority for city dwellers.

He added: “A new commission should investigate the barriers to bringing vacant properties back into use, even if that means turning offices into housing, or department stores into art galleries.

“Similarly, we need to make it cheap and easy for independent businesses to take up high street property and we believe a standard small business lease could be part of this solution.”

Mr McRae said banks were the “worst offenders” when it came to closures. “At the very least, they should make good on their promise to roll out shared banking hubs and we’d urge them to start with the largest bank-less towns.”

Economy Secretary Derek Mackay said: “We have already established a £50m capital Town Centre Fund for 2019-20 to help local authorities to stimulate growth and investments, which encourage town centres to diversify and ­flourish. This is part of a wider boost to the economy, which includes £5 billion in capital investment to grow and modernise Scotland’s infrastructure, as well as wider support for businesses.

“That includes the most generous package of business rates reliefs in the UK – worth more than £750m in 2019-20, up from £732m in 2018-19 – while over 90 per cent of properties in Scotland will pay a lower poundage than they would elsewhere in the UK.

“Our Small Business Bonus has lifted more than 100,000 properties out of rates altogether. Meanwhile, the Scottish National Investment Bank will ensure we are delivering for the economy by supporting ambitious businesses and important infrastructure projects.”

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